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My perfect next gen Roadster

My perfect next gen Roadster

So, I was thinking about what would make a perfect car and I think I've got it. It will be the next gen Roadster but only if it comes with the following: a hard top convertible and a back seat.

Few cars have both of those. A Miata/Fiat 124 don't have a back seat, a Cooper convertible isn't a hard top and neither are Mustangs or Camaros, and the BMWs and Audis that do have a hard top and a back seat are quite expensive (and of course they're not electric). Another problem with convertibles is they often have minuscule trunk space. Tesla should be able to overcome that (at least somewhat) with a frunk.

To recap: a hard top, electric, convertible with a back seat and extra luggage space with a frunk is what I'm hoping Tesla will make. Now just waiting 5(?) years for them to manufacture it....

jcoon1800 |
September 2, 2017

It's unlikely the next gen Roadster will be anything other than a 2 seat car that's differentiated from the S or a 4 seat car.

anilchada |
September 12, 2017

I completely agree with you. Since Tesla is about fast cars, they should offer full line-up of sports cars to accommodate different needs. Similar to what Porsche 911 has. I am interested in a car from Tesla similar to 911 Carrera 4 or 911 Carrera Cabriolet. If Tesla comes up with strictly 2 seater it will attract few buyers.

Tesla2018 |
November 16, 2017

I would have preferred a 2 seater but damn I want that car!

inconel |
November 17, 2017

I love the two kid seats at the back, like the 911. That was nice to carry the occasional passengers or for throwing your bags.

carlk |
November 17, 2017

Talk about wish come true.

NKYTA |
November 17, 2017

Agree, a two seater would be nice.

pmlugo |
November 17, 2017

Now I have a reason to hold on to my 2013 MS with 100k miles for a few more years. Was thinking of up grading but will now wait for this roadster. Wished the reservation was not closer to 10-20k.

TeslaTap.com |
November 18, 2017

Seems like a 2 seater is easy - just remove the rear seat! Likely takes all of 10 minutes. Might not look finished, but some toss a blanket over the exposed area :)

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

Holiday Wish List: 1. Make it not only the fastest production car ever, but also the best handling (needs to be light, as balanced, as engaging, & as fun as a Honda S2000 2nd gen, i.e. a "driver's car"). 2. Give option for sound system to perfectly mimic classic combustion car audio shake, hum, & roll for a customized & variable experience. Allow me to choose car engine audio from a menu of classic driver's cars: FD Rx7, S2000 plus & minus mods like turbo or supercharger audio, Mclarens, GTO, Mach-1, Bandit Special Trans-Am, 86 w/ JGTR engine, etc. 3. Also offer programing options that mimic the different handling and performance characteristics of classic cars. Basically, I want a car that can alter it's characteristics like choosing different cars for different moods & situations like a real life Gran Turismo simulator. I'd also like a car that could "teach" me to be a better driver in a safe & fun way. 4. Design roof, sides, & windows that can be dialed from completely clear to variable levels of tint to completely opaque without compromising safety, weight, structural flex characteristics, and balance (i.e. make the entire top of the car able to go from being a regular roof w/ windows to being a tinted moon roof). 5. Hide the windshield wiper any time it's not in use so a not to alter the "flow" of the otherwise gorgeous design. 6. Put a feature in to simulate a clutch and a gearbox for the fun and engagement of the driving experience that can be easily switched to full automatic for stop & go traffic. 7. Keep up the good work! I don't have a Tesla yet, but I like the way you dream & am dreaming my own wish list as a driving enthusiast. Thanks for listening & keep on dreamin'!

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

8. Nothing is unhackable, but make it as unhackable as possible. Then add a switch that manually disengages the car's ability to receive a hacker's signal if the car does get hacked, such as by physically disconnecting the car's antenna. 9. Offer an integrated and hidden radar and laser detector that puts all others to shame as an option, not that we would ever speed with this car. 9. Get rid of the windshield wiper entirely by inventing some better way to accomplish the same goal (hydrophobic materials, air jet wipers, magnetic field, or some other new Tesla way of doing things). Revolutionize headlight/night visibility in a similarly revolutionary Tesla way. Draw inspiration from Apache helicopter pilot helmet vision systems, VR, etc.

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

10. Allow me to switch it from AWD to RWD if I want.

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

11. Revolutionize the tires as well. I never want to have to worry about a flat again. I'd also like to be able to check and dial in tire pressures from inside the cabin, similar to how a Humvee can automatically deflate the tires for sand and inflate them for tarmac on the fly without ever having to stop. Offer the automatic tire pressure version of traction control or intelligent suspension to optimize the car for variable conditions: dry vs wet, hot vs cold, hard vs loose, etc. and have to able to be set from 1-10 on levels of intervention/aggression. 12. Intelligent suspension, and handling in general, goes without saying as a request from a tech marvel like a Tesla, by the way. 13. The brakes should also match the engine. The fastest production car ever should also have the best brakes, whether high-grade ceramics or some other paradigm-shifting technology.

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

14. Make the ultimate "driver's car" by making the ultimate fun car.

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

15. Make the car version of a Yamaha R1-M--a machine that feels, sounds, & rides like a musical instrument; whose technology aids the rider seamlessly without being intrusive; and was designed by a legendary world champion.

NKYTA |
November 18, 2017

I’m signing. Kudos to those that have the cache.

caciqueguapo |
November 18, 2017

16. Minimum, have absolutely foolproof lithium battery protection, because lithium explosions are way to dangerous to even remotely risk. Ideally, switch to a new battery technology that is safer and more effective, maybe one of those conductor substances encapsulated in a spongy matrix of non-conductor to prevent the kind of ionic critical mass that makes conventional battery explosions so dangerous. Safety third, but dress for the crash and not the ride to live and play another day!

jordanrichard |
November 19, 2017

Caciqueguapo, “.........because lithium explosions”........? When have you ever heard of a Tesla battery just up and “exploding”?

Tropopause |
November 19, 2017

Caciqueguapo,

Why should Tesla Roadster be a wannabe of an inferior and offensive technology (ICE) by mimicking sounds and functions? I say leave that stuff in the past where it belongs and enjoy the future. Do you think the first drivers of ICE cars wished to simulate the sounds and smells of horse-and-buggy? They were happy to shift the excrement from in-their-faces to behind them! :)

carlk |
November 19, 2017

Do you really want people to hear that engine noise and thinking a slow clunker is coming?

caciqueguapo |
November 19, 2017

The engine noise simulation would be optional, able to be turned on and off, and only played over the car's soundsystem. Outside the car would still have the advantage of being a quiet electric. I'm just saying that part of the experience of motorsports that connects the driver to the vehicle is the singing of the engine. It connects the driver to what the engine is doing in a way gauges do not, similar to how the sound of a musical instrument allows the player to play by feel. If you watch the Red Bull Straight Rhythm races from 2017 & 2016 (available on the Red Bull TV app), you will see the electric supercross bike from Alta motorsports finished quite competitively with the traditional dirt bikes. However, the one complaint from the racers was that you can't hear it. The die-hards even lamented the fact that "4-strokes just don't sound as cool as 2-strokes." Racers like to hear the roar of the engine, not only because it's pleasant and excitiing, but because it gives useful feedback. I'm not saying that Tesla's have to roar like a combustion engine, but it would be fun to be able to simulate it if you want and they should have a roar of their own as well. Wild animals roar, and this roadster's a beast! As a motorsports enthusiast, I'm just saying that my dream Tesla would have some kind of engine song that connected me with what the car is doing and is exciting and pleasing as well. As far as lithium battery explosions; no, thankfully, I haven't heard of any problems in Teslas with battery explosions, which I consider to suggest that Tesla is doing something right. The only reason I mention it is that, in other cases (like the Samsung Galaxy problems) lithium batteries have been associated with safety issues. By the data so far, Tesla appears to have found highly-effective safety strategies to mitigate the risks of modern batteries, and I applaud them for that attention to safety. I also applaud Tesla for advancing battery technology in general. I am only noting that research is finding ways, not only to make batteries better, but safer and encourage the continued use of modern technology to achieve both goals.

inconel |
November 20, 2017

Tesla electric motors do make a sound under hard acceleration, much more discreet and civilized though than the explosion sound of ICE.
I personally would hate to have the electric motor imitate this obnoxious explosion sound. I am sure some people must have asked the first cars to have something to imitate the "clip clop" sound of horse hooves :)

carlk |
November 20, 2017

It's all in the perception. People connect engine wail to fast car because that's what they hear from fastest sports cars. In a few years when fastest cars in very category are electric that engine sound will feel dull if not comical like when you see those ricer cars with coke can exhaust tip wailing by.

I once had a Cayman S with that sweetest flat 6 just inches from my ears. After I got my S that sound became announcement of engine struggle when acceleration could not match that sound.

Tropopause |
November 20, 2017

I like the sounds my S makes. The ICE noises just remind me of an industry that favored profit over consumer well-being, an industry that promised a better future that never came. Every great empire eventually falls and I think many consumers are going to enjoy watching the show.

Colasec |
November 20, 2017

+1 on the handling - it should be a great track car, and feel light and balanced and awesome - and on the option to play a big throaty V8/V10 sound through the speakers.

Sparky |
November 20, 2017

I'm sure you'll able to dial in the torque split to optimize what you're doing. The little rear seats will be just like a 911; a place to put the helmets. (or the grandkids)

But how about a name for it to differentiate it from the original Tesla's? "Railgun" might be appropriate.

carlk |
November 20, 2017

Elon mentioned motors in Roadster will provide torque vectoring. Just imaging how much better this could be done with independently controlled electric motors than mechanical torque split with differentials in an ICE car.

caciqueguapo |
November 21, 2017

One way to answer whether an engine audio app for the car would be popular or not would be to let the market decide. Offer an app for all current Teslas that offers engine audio modes from Real Tesla to V10 supercar to supercharged V8 muscle car to monster truck to space ship. My guess is that many would find them fun, but not use them all the time, and that space ship mode would keep me the coolest uncle ever to my nephews. As far as how realistic an engine audio app could be, if _Initial D_ (Japanese car racing anime that used real racers as technical directors) could do it perfectly in the 1990's, Tesla should be able to come up with the audio equivalent of virtual reality today. This beast should have a growl, if it doesn't already. Need to hear more audio on it.

caciqueguapo |
November 21, 2017

Fighter jet and tank modes would be popular with my nephews as well.

caciqueguapo |
November 21, 2017

And of course you would be able to blend whatever music you want to listen to in with the engine audio.

Just to keep this topic alive, I only wish they use an opposed wiper system from Bosch that completely hides away and not the gigantic piece they showed in the reveal. The opposed wiper system from Bosch is the same servo-motor based system in the i8 and the ford Fusion. They are excellent for large windshields and are not mechanically connected.

caciqueguapo |
August 18, 2018

Dear Elon and Tesla,

Sorry you are going through a tough time, as evidenced by your recent interviews and stock market reports. I am writing to tell you to keep doing what you are doing. You are geniuses, but geniuses are people too. Don't let the stress and the haters get to you, and don't become your own worst enemies by doubting yourselves or your mission. Humility will be the key to your strength, but it also takes confidence to perform.

The great Shao-Lin Kung Fu master, Yang Giwu, taught his students, "Humility defeats pride. Pride defeats man." Recovering alcoholics advise, "Don't compare your insides to other people's outsides." The first level of that wisdom is that all the celebrities whose lives we envy and admire are just as "screwed up" as the rest of us. The second, and more improtant, level is that we all have the ability to be just as enviable and admirable as those whose lives we think we'd rather have. However, the best way to get there is to stop worrying about how we compare to others and keep our focus on our goals. Don't worry about what stock market blips mean. Nobody knows! Worry about what you know to be right. Another wise saying that encompases the Buddist tools of mindfulness and acceptance for combating adversity is the Serenity Prayer, "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference!" Keep those words in your hearts and keep doing what you know to be right. It's ok to be human, but beware of sharing your inner selves too broadly with the media. Learn the lesson of Tom Cruise and know when to keep the mystery about you secret and not jump up and down on the couch on Oprah during emotional times. No need to give your enemies weapons to use against you.

The next gen roadster will be just one of your great accomplishments. Nobody said getting to Mars and saving the environment by making cool, yet functional, low emissions vehicles and home solar systems would be easy. There are a lot of powerful forces conspiring against you, specifically because you are a threat to their status quo. Defy them by continuing to make great products! Make the next gen roadster not only fast in the quarter mile (which you would expect from an electric engine), but also by breaking lap records at legendary Grand Prix tracks to show your prowess at handling. Make your cars lighter and better balanced than anyone thought electric cars could ever be. First gauntlet throw down should be breaking the Corvette ZR-1 record at Virginia International Raceway (2:37:25 Grand Course West). Second gauntlet is to break Valentino Rossi's motorcycle GP lap time at Laguna Seca (1:21:418 in 2013). Third gauntlet is to break the street legal production car record at the Nubergring (debated between a rollcaged Lamborghini Aventador 6:44:97 and the Porsche 911 GT2 RS 6:47:25). Do those feats and make your cars fun to drive as well, and the stock market numbers will take care of themselves. You already do superior customer support. Keep treating your customers as well you do, and they will take care of you!

As far as stress and not sleeping, I know what that's like, because I've been a night shift worker for 13 years (and partial night shift worker for 3 years before that). Ambien helps sometimes, but it should not be relied on. The quality of sleep it gives you is not nearly as good a regular sleep. Same goes for alcohol or any other sedative medication. Safer and more long term effective alternatives are 2-5 mg Melatonin taken every time you go to sleep to cue your body with its natural sleep trigger. People who struggle with racing thoughts before bedtime, restless sleep, or nightmares can also benefit from Prazosin 1 mg at bedtime. It is an adrenaline blocker (alpha-1 antagonist) that has been found to help sleep and prevent nightmares in PTSD patients, but doesn't dope you up or alter your mental status. Another adrenaline blocker that doesn't obscure your mental clarity is Propranolol. Propranolol is the oldest "beta-blocker" (beta-adrenaline receptor) medication and is the only one that crosses the blood brain barrier, hence blocks adrenaline in the brain, which can have a non-sedating anti-anxiety effect to use day or night. 10 mg Propranolol every 12 hours (if you don't have high blood pressure) or 20 mg every 12 hours (if you do have high blood pressure or can tolerate a higher dose) can have a powerful anti-anxiety effect without doping you up or clouding your mind. My caveat is that Propranolol should not be taken by severe asthmatics, whose wheezing can be worsened by it, or by people with very low blood pressure, whose blood pressure will be further lowed by it, which can make them dizzy.

Past those tooks for keeping your sanity under fire, keep your eyes on the ball, keep making cool stuff, and show the world with your products that practical can also be fun! I may or may not be able to afford a Tesla Roadster some day, but I am saving up for a Tesla Power Wall for my house, and I know the Roadster will make all your other cars better and more fun too.

Keep fighting the good fight,

Caciqueguapo

P.S. To those who critiqued my original messages regarding how I wanted my dream Tesla Roadster to be fun and have a cool sound as being like early car drivers being nostalgic for horse and buggys, I hear what you are saying, but I think you're using the wrong analogy. I would compare my 2005 Honda S2000 (on _Car and Driver's_ top 10 funest cars to drive list) should be compared to a race horse, not a horse and buggy, which is about as connected as a riding experience can get. I was merely stating that I wanted my dream Tesla Roadster not only to be fast, but also be fun by providing a connected driving experience (as opposed to having a bunch of electronic aids doing everything for me).

caciqueguapo |
August 18, 2018

Correction "Nubergring" should be "Nurburgring." My bad!

caciqueguapo |
October 18, 2018

Dear Tesla,

Please, buy Alta Motorsports, save them from bankruptcy, and see if there's a way for their electric motor motocross bikes to compete again in the Red Bull Straight Rhythm event this Saturday (despite it being a two-stroke engine event only this year). They are the only electric dirtbike that has competed credibly against traditional gas-powered ones. They, and ATV versions, are also being looked into by military SF units as a potential market, because they handle rough terrain silently.

Then make an electric 4x4 that eats Ford F-150 Raptor's for breakfast while being the ultimate dirtbike hauler with a 6' bed and a tailgate that transforms into a bike loading ramp. Your torque-heavy electric engines with ultimate traction control could be a serious contender vs. today's 4x4's. Copy and improve the Hum-Vee system of on the fly tire pressure changing to handle sand or mud vs tarmac at the twist of a switch and find a way to make flat tires a thing of the past. Such vehicle designs might also be attractive to military buyers for their silent torque factor.

After that, make an RV/Toy Hauler to adventure with electric Alta motocross bikes in style and include solar panels on the roof hooked up to Tesla Power Walls. Also, please, make hurricane-proof solar panels to go with your Power Walls, because natural disaster-resistant power supplies would be just another massive advantage over current technology.

Thanks for listening and good luck on the Roadster and Semi. Never give up!